Lesser-known Yankees infield prospect lighting it up at the plate with Somerset

BRIDGEWATER – Just as everyone expected, an exciting, athletic infielder is lighting it up for the Somerset Patriots this season.

It just might not be who you expected.

As super-prospect Anthony Volpe continues to slowly get his year turned around at the plate, it’s been lesser-known Oliver Dunn who’s been generating buzz with his play of late, putting up video game-type numbers ever since he started to see some regular playing time in mid-May.

The 24-year-old has nine hits in his last 19 at-bats, including two homers and nine RBI, and is hitting .462 in his first nine games this season. After an admittedly “tough” 2021 campaign in which he hit just .196 between multiple trips between High-A Hudson Valley and Somerset, a refined approach has finally allowed him to show what he can really do when his name is consistently in the lineup.

“You know, I’m just trying to be the same guy every day coming to the field,” Dunn said. “For a little bit there, I wasn’t getting in there a ton, but I was just trying to make sure that I brought the same intensity and focus to my work, and practice pre-game; batting practice and preparation, like I would if I were in there. Just continue to work like I was in the lineup. I’ve been able to get a pretty good routine that I feel has been able to help me stay even keel and ready.”

The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder started the season with Somerset in a utility role – he wasn’t in the Opening Day lineup, but made an impact the very next day, going 3-for-3 with three doubles and three RBI in the second game of the season against Reading. Unfortunately, he suffered a minor hamstring injury on the last double and missed two weeks of the season and was used just twice between April 24 and May 12 following his activation off the injured list, leaving him to wonder if his spot was perhaps in jeopardy.

“I definitely knew that it wasn’t good timing,” he said. “Coming in, I knew it was going to be a battle right from the beginning, and to start good and then, in the first game, get hurt, I knew it was going to make it more of an uphill battle than it already was going to be.  But I tried to not get too tied up on that, because it definitely could have been frustrating.”

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Instead, Dunn has relished his opportunity, but hasn’t gotten too high off that either, chalking it up to a “baseball is baseball” type of hot streak.

“Statistically, when you hit it early, it’s going to inflate your numbers a little bit,” he said.  “But I try to worry about as little as I can. Last year, I did a lot of searching, a trying to do more than I could kind of deal. This year, I’m just trying to do the same routines when I hit, same work.  Just do everything and simplify it as much as I can and let that take care of what happens on the field.”

Dunn’s approach and work ethic has impressed those around him, particularly manager Dan Fiorito, who also had him in Hudson Valley, and is pleased with the start to the season his young infielder has had, but certainly isn’t surprised.

“Last year, he had a low period, and right now, he’s in a high period,” Fiorito said. “It’s just a matter of staying consistent through the highs and lows, knowing that your game is enough and not tinkering when things do go bad. In the games he’s played, he’s dominated. He’s done incredible. He’s shown power, ability to hit to all fields, he works great counts. He swings at pitches that are over the plate, and when he does that, he’s going to be successful. It’s awesome to see him making the most of his opportunities when he’s out there.”

Having overcome the struggles of last year – one in which Dunn said he spent way too much time trying to make changes to his swing, which helped him learn the importance of routine – he’s now finally starting to look the player the Yankees thought they were getting when they took him out of the University of Utah in the 11th round of the Draft back in 2019.

That Dunn even got to that point at all is a story in itself; growing up in Salt Lake City, he comes from a state that has historically produced one of the fewest amounts of future big leaguers (42) in the country.

“You know, it’s growing a little bit, but it’s not easy to get seen in Utah,” he said. “The recruiting in Utah – I got lucky, and I went to Area Codes and played in some tournaments; the Utah Marshalls are a summer team that I played for that do a good job with exposure and the Mountain West Baseball Academy is a good way to get exposure – there’s not a lot. It’s there, you’ve just got to be willing to travel a little bit and play a lot of baseball.”

Originally committed to Seattle University, the Cottonwood High School standout eventually changing his mind and playing for his hometown school, citing a desire to play in the PAC-12 and prove himself at a more competitive level of college baseball. A three-year starter, he led the team in batting average (.366), hits (71), OPS (1.017), stolen bases (9), triples (4) and walks (30) over his junior year and has since developed into the “confident” player in the Yankees system that Fiorito couldn’t stop raving about.

“When he does see his name in the lineup, he’s ready to go and compete,” Fiorito said. “That’s so much credit to him and all the work he puts in. He’s just a really smart baseball player, he’s really knowledgeable. Every pitcher that we go face, he has a great plan and I know he helps all of his teammates, even in games when he’s not in the lineup.  He helps everybody in there, and guys gravitate towards him.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: New York Yankees: Oliver Dunn hitting well with Somerset